Last update:
6/17/10
Bar Harbor Brass Faculty
Blair Bollinger, Music Director
Blair Bollinger enjoys a varied musical career as a
trombonist, a conductor and a teacher. He is the Bass Trombonist of the
Philadelphia Orchestra. He joined the Orchestra in 1986 at the
invitation of Music Director Riccardo Muti and enjoys the full Orchestra
schedule of more than 160 concerts each year along with many recordings
and international tours, spanning the tenures of Muti, Wolfgang
Sawallisch, Christoph Eschenbach and Charles Dutoit. As a soloist,
Mr. Bollinger has performed with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Atlanta
Symphony, National Symphony of Taiwan and others. He has performed
recitals and given master classes in Brazil, Chile, China, Holland,
Israel, Japan, Korea, Poland, Taiwan and throughout the United States.
Mr. Bollinger has been featured at multiple international and domestic
brass conferences. As a student he won the 1986 Philadelphia Orchestra
Greenfield Competition and remains the only trombonist to win this
competition since it began in 1934 as well as the only bass trombone
soloist ever with the Philadelphia Orchestra. In March 2007 he performed
the World Premiere of a Bass Trombone Concerto written for him by
Philadelphia composer Jay Krush with the US Army Orchestra at the
Eastern Trombone Workshop. His recordings include a solo disc,
“Fancy Free”, for d’Note Records, hailed by
American Record Guide as “The recording I’ve been waiting for ... an
amazing display of Bollinger’s virtuoso skills.” Other recordings are 2
discs with his trombone quartet "Four of a Kind" and a Gabrieli disc
with the Canadian Brass. With “Four of a Kind”, Mr. Bollinger has toured
Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the U.S. and appeared at several trombone
conferences. An active arranger, his arrangements of music for various
string and brass ensembles are published by Alphonse Leduc in Paris,
Ensemble Publications in New York and Southern Music in Texas. Mr.
Bollinger is the founding Music Director of the Bar Harbor Brass Week in
Maine where he conducts, performs and teaches each summer. He is a
frequent guest conductor
with the Orchestra Society of Philadelphia and leads the Curtis Brass
and Percussion Ensemble. Mr. Bollinger also has conducted concerts with
his daughter, Robyn, as a violin soloist both in Philadelphia and with
the DeKalb (GA) Symphony. He has conducted many colleagues from the
Philadelphia Orchestra as soloists including concertmaster David Kim.
A 1986 graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, he studied with
Charles Vernon and Glenn Dodson. Mr. Bollinger is now on faculty at
Curtis and Temple University. In addition to teaching lessons, he
conducts repertoire classes and coaches chamber music. He has
spent recent summers performing and teaching in the Grand Teton Music
Festival in Wyoming, Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, Aspen
Music Festival in Colorado, Vail Music Festival in Colorado, Saratoga
Performing Arts Center in New York, Bar Harbor Brass in Maine, Blast of
Brass Conference in Texas and Lindenbaum Music Festival in Seoul, Korea.
Mr. Bollinger is also active in backstage administration work at Curtis
and the Philadelphia Orchestra. At the Orchestra he has negotiated union
contracts, served on marketing and education committees and currently
Chairs the Conductor Search Committee. He is a member of the Board of
Trustees at Curtis and has served on many Faculty and Board committees
including Accreditation, Academic Honesty, Curriculum, Facilities,
Library, Mission Review and Student Life.
Adam Unsworth, Horn
Adam Unsworth is Associate Professor of Horn at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Prior to his appointment at Michigan, he was Fourth Horn of The Philadelphia Orchestra (1998-2007) and Second Horn of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (1995-1998.) He has also performed as a guest Principal horn of the St. Louis Symphony and Principal horn of the Colorado Music Festival. A former faculty member at Temple University, he has appeared as a recitalist and clinician at many universities throughout the United States, and has made several solo and chamber appearances at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. Mr. Unsworth received his formal training at Northwestern University, where he studied with former Chicago Symphony Orchestra members Gail Williams and Norman Schweikert. He continued with graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Douglas Hill. He later recorded Jazz Set for Solo Horn, released in 2001 as part of 'Thoughtful Wanderings', a compilation of Hill's works for horn. In 2006 Adam released his first jazz CD entitled Excerpt This!, which features five of his original compositions for jazz sextet and three unaccompanied works. Since then he has completed a second jazz CD, Next Step, and recently released Just Follow Instructions, a recording of the chamber music of Daniel Schnyder. In 2000, the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music named him their Distinguished Alumnus of the Year.
Check out Mr. Unsworth's website at:
www.AdamUnsworth.com
Matthew Vaughn, Trombone, Euphonium
Matthew Vaughn joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in
September 1999 as Associate-Principal Trombone. He was Assistant
Principal and Acting Principal trombone of the San Antonio Symphony
from 1997 through 1999. Prior to joining the San Antonio Symphony,
Mr. Vaughn served in the United States Air Force Concert Band in Washington,
D.C., from 1993-1997. He has performed with the Los Angeles
Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony
and National Symphony and has been featured as a soloist with the
Lafayette Symphony, San
Antonio Symphony, Temple University Band, the United States Air Force Band, the Indiana University
Symphony Orchestra, and the Richmond (Indiana) Symphony. Born
in Dallas and raised in Richmond, Indiana, Mr. Vaughn earned a Bachelor
of Music degree with high distinction and a Performer’s Certificate
from Indiana University in 1992, continuing with graduate work in conducting
at Indiana University and George Mason University. He taught trombone
and was a member of the faculty brass quintet at the University of Texas
at San Antonio, and currently teaches at Temple University. His
former teachers include M. Dee Stewart, Milton Stevens, and David Brumfield.
Stephen Dumaine, Tuba
Stephen Dumaine grew up in Burrilville, Rhode Island, and during his high school years he was a member of the Greater Boston Youth Symphony, winning a concerto competition to appear as soloist with them when he was eighteen. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School, and was principal tuba in Spain's Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia during the 1995-96 season. Mr. Dumaine then returned to the United States, where his orchestral experience includes positions with the New World Symphony, the San Antonio Symphony, and the Alabama Symphony, and substitute work with the New York City Ballet Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. National and international festival experience includes Tanglewood, Aspen, National Repertory Orchestra, SHIRA Festival (Israel), and Pacific Music Festival (Japan). Mr. Dumaine joined the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. as Principal Tuba in 2004.
Douglas
Prosser, Trumpet
Douglas Prosser is a native of Kansas born in Topeka in 1963.
He received his collegiate musical training at the Eastman School of Music and
the Juilliard School of Music from 1981-1987 under the tutelage of Barbara
Butler Charles Guyer, formerly of the Chicago Symphony and Mark Gould, Principal
Trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera of New York. Mr. Prosser began his career in
1987 as the third trumpet of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and was
shortly thereafter named the principal trumpet of the City of Barcelona Symphony
Orchestra in Barcelona, Spain. From 1987 to 1995 Mr. Prosser toured widely with
the Barcelona ensemble throughout Europe and Asia and was featured frequently as
a soloist with performances of trumpet concerti by Tomasi, Haydn, and Hummel. In
1995 he returned to the United States to rejoin the Rochester Philharmonic as
Principal Trumpet and in 1997 was appointed to the faculty of the Eastman School
of Music as Associate Professor of Trumpet and Brass Chamber Music. Most
recently Mr. Prosser served as acting Associate Principal Trumpet with the
Philadelphia Orchestra during their 2007 summer residency at Saratoga Springs,
New York. As an orchestral musician, chamber player, recitalist and clinician
Mr. Prosser’s has toured worldwide including performances in Tokyo, Osaka,
Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Barcelona, Madrid,
Valencia, Marseille, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Denver, Houston, Toronto, New
York City, Boston, Miami and Campeche, Mexico. Mr. Prosser’s orchestral and
chamber performances can be heard on recordings of EMI Classics, Harmonia Mundi
and Eastman in Concert.
Wayne
J. du Maine, Trumpet
A native of St. Louis, Wayne J. du Maine currently performs with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Brooklyn and Long Island Philharmonics, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, New York City Opera, Rodney Mack Philadelphia Big Brass, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and with contemporary music ensembles such as Speculum Musicae, Sospeso, and ST-X Xenakis. Mr. du Maine is a member of the Manhattan Brass and with Mercury and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Brass Quintets, he is dedicated to performing and introducing live music to thousands of school children in the NYC area, NJ and PA. Wayne has worked with a broad spectrum of artists ranging from Leonard Bernstein and Leonard Slatkin to Hank Jones, Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Patti Lupone and Audra MacDonald. He has been a soloist with the orchestras of St. Louis, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. He can be heard on recordings with the New York Philharmonic, Met Opera Orchestra, numerous commercials, motion pictures and with Prince on his New Power Soul recording. Mr. du Maine is on the faculty of Columbia and Princeton Universities. At the Juilliard School, Wayne teaches trumpet in the Music Advancement Program and serves as a teaching assistant in the Instrumental Music Program. He is also on the conducting faculty of the Elisabeth Murrow Summer Strings. Mr. du Maine has performed at music festivals in Aspen, Spoleto, Tanglewood, Vermont Mozart, Bowdoin, Marlboro, Berkshire Choral, and the Manchester (VT) Music Festival. He has been a member of the pit orchestras for Titanic, Music Man and Man of La Mancha. Wayne just completed a two year run of Fiddler on the Roof where he was associate conductor. He is currently a member of the show How The Grinch Stole Christmas and serves as associate conductor at the hit revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center. Highlights of recent performances include the Boys Choir of Harlem, Take 6, Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society, the Pittsburgh Collective, soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the rock band Jesus H. Christ, where he plays keyboards. A member of two softball leagues in Central Park, Wayne resides in Manhattan with his wife, Sharon.
Andrew Bove, Tuba
(photo: Carsten Fleck)
Andrew Bove is from Massapequa Park, New York, and now enjoys a diverse career as a freelance musician and producer based in New York City. As an orchestral musician, Mr. Bove has performed on tuba with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York City Ballet, American Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Phoenix Symphony, Long Island Philharmonic, Westchester Philharmonic, as well as many others. He can be frequently be heard performing with the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and with a variety of Broadway shows. Mr Bove is also in demand as a chamber musician, and has performed and recorded with many groups including the Extension Ensemble and the American Brass Quintet. He has performed on recordings and soundtracks for CBS, NBC News, Discovery Channel, ESPN, Coca-Cola, AMC Theaters, Sony, Electronic Arts, Paramount Pictures, Summit, Albany, Centaur, EMI Virgin, and was featured by Hip-Bone music in their series of CDs and instructional DVDs for young musicians. Mr. Bove's debut solo album "d'Amore", performed on cimbasso, will be released during the summer of 2010. From 1999-2002, he was the recipient of the orchestral tuba fellowship from the Aspen Music Festival and has performed at many other festivals, including the Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, National Repertory Orchestra, New World Symphony, and the Pierre Monteux School. Mr. Bove is a graduate of The Juilliard School and Northwestern University, and is currently a faculty member at Kean University, Juilliard's Pre-College Division, and the Bar Harbor Brass Week.
Joy
Hodges Branagan, Horn
Joy Hodges Branagan has been playing horn professionally since
1997, while still a student at the Manhattan School of Music. Upon graduation in
May of 1998, she won a position as Second Horn in the San Antonio Symphony,
where she played until 2003. While in San Antonio, Joy was a member of the San
Antonio Brass and was on the faculty at St. Mary’s University, as well as being
active as a performer and teacher throughout South Texas. In December of
2003 Joy moved to Washington D.C. and immediately began playing with notable
symphony orchestras in the area including the Baltimore Symphony, National
Symphony, and the orchestra of the Washington National Opera. In the spring of
2006, Joy was invited to perform as guest solo artist with the Cobb Symphony
Orchestra in her hometown of Marietta, Georgia. Since 2005, she has been Second
Horn of the Richmond Symphony, and was Professor of Horn at Towson University
from 2006-2009. In addition to Bar Harbor Brass Week, Joy is also on the faculty
of the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina. Joy is
excited to begin her new job, Second Horn with the Vancouver Symphony, in the
fall of 2009.
Dr.
Jack Burt, Trumpet
Dr. Jack Burt is the Associate Professor of Trumpet at the University of Maine, where he is responsible for the trumpet studio, and also directs the Jazz Ensemble, Brass Choir and Trumpet Ensemble. He received degrees in musicology and trumpet performance from the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music in Berea, Ohio and the University of South Carolina. He earned his DMA in Trumpet from the University of Texas at Austin where he studied with Raymond Crisara. He also pursued musical studies in Berlin, Germany, and has worked with members of major orchestras in the United States and Europe, among them the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Berliner Philharmoniker. He is the former principal trumpet of the Corpus Christi and Victoria Symphony Orchestras. Dr. Burt has performed in Germany, the Netherlands, and also appeared throughout Mexico as a member of the Orquesta Filarmonica de la Ciudad de Mexico and the Orquesta Filarmonica de la UNAM. Solo and recital appearances included performances with the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra, the Victoria Bach Festival, Victoria Symphony, the San Antonio Brass, the Arkady Music Festival in Bar Harbor, Maine and, as a conductor, at the Breckenridge Music Institute in Breckenridge, Colorado.
Chris
Branagan, Trombone
A native of San Antonio, TX, Chris Branagan has been a member of The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” since 2003. Prior to his appointment in the Army’s premiere musical organization, Chris served concurrent positions as adjunct Professor of Trombone at Texas Lutheran University and The University of Texas – San Antonio. He has held positions with the San Antonio Symphony, Austin Lyric Opera Orchestra (Principal Trombone), and National Philharmonic (the resident orchestra of The Music Center at Strathmore). Chris made his Kennedy Center debut in 2004, in a Millennium Stage chamber performance, and has since performed on numerous occasions with Washington National Opera. A graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, he has won prizes in solo competitions of the International Trombone Association and the IWBC and in 2001 was selected as one of twelve tenor trombonists from an international pool of applicants to participate in the 2001 Alessi Seminar, hosted by New York Philharmonic Principal Trombonist Joseph Alessi. While studying at the RSAMD, he won every solo and chamber prize available to brass musicians, including an apprenticeship position with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and a solo performance with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Chris Martin, Trumpet
(note: Mr. Martin will not be able to participate in 2010.)
Christopher Martin, originally from Marietta, Georgia, joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as Principal Trumpet in 2005. He was Principal Trumpet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra the from 2001-2005, after three years as Associate Principal Trumpet of The Philadelphia Orchestra. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music in 1997 under the trumpet instruction of professors Charles Geyer and Barbara Butler. Prior to joining The Philadelphia Orchestra in October 1997, Mr. Martin was also offered the Principal Trumpet position with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. Martin has been an Affiliate Professor of Trumpet at at Emory University in Atlanta and Temple University in Philadelphia, and gives master classes at music conservatories and colleges around the nation, including the Manhattan School of Music. He has performed as Principal Trumpet with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, and the Grand Teton Music Festival. Mr. Martin, a native of Marietta, Georgia, comes from a musical family. His father, Freddy Martin, is a band director for a prestigious Georgia private school, and his mother, Lynda Martin, sings in the Atlanta Symphony Chorus. While a member of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, Mr. Martin trained with then-Atlanta Symphony Orchestra trumpeter Larry Black. He later received his bachelor’s degree in trumpet performance in 1997 from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where his primary teachers were Charles Geyer and Barbara Butler. As Principal Trumpet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, he can be heard on a number of recent recordings, including the ASO’s 2003 Grammy Award-winning recording of Ralph Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony conducted by Robert Spano.
Jon Nelson, Trumpet
(note: Mr. Nelson will not be able to participate in 2010.)
Jon Nelson, trumpet with the Meridian Arts Ensemble in New York, and currently Assistant Professor of the State University of New York at Buffalo, maintains an active career as performer, producer and collaborator. He has served as principal trumpet for the Festival Aix en Provence de Musique in France under the direction of Pierre Boulez, and the Mineria Festival Orchestra in Mexico City. His arrangements have been performed and recorded by the Cologne Stadt Ballet, the Ethos Percussion Group, and Dweezil Zappa; he has recorded for Channel Classics Records, Barking Pumpkin, BMG/RCA, Bridge, Cuniform, Peer, New World Records, Vandenburg, and CRI. Mr. Nelson holds a B.M. from The Juilliard School where he studied with Mark Gould. He has also studied with Laurie Frink in New York, and Antoine Cure in France.